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In building our university faculty, many things are of course important. One such example is the ambition to create complete academic environments (see more on this in a previous post here). Another example is to work strategically with the target groups of our academic environment. As the University Law in Sweden prescribes, we as a university have two main tasks, i.e., (1.) education, and (2.) research. Thus, I think that it is fair to say the students is our main target group. Actually, and if I may elaborate a bit, future students, as well as, existing students form our main focal group of attention. It is especially the work on attracting future students at TS that I want to highlight in this post.

For the first time in the history of TS, Teknikdagen — a seminar day for our future university faculty students — was arranged yesterday here in the Niagara building. Teknikdagen included high school students (gymnasielever), as well as, their teachers from education programs in technology and natural sciences from all across Skåne. Teknikdagen offered inspiring talks from former TS students, as well as, live examples from our degree programs presented by our existing students, and seminars given by members of the staff here at TS. Also, two students, Nilo from the byggingenjörs-program and Sara from the app dev program, served as excellent hosts. In my humble opinion, this first version of Teknikdagen was a great success, and something we need to build on for the second version of it, which I sincerely hope will take place next fall.

Having said all this, I would like to particularly thank the following persons for their dedicated work on arranging the first Teknikdagen:

One thing that I find surprisingly difficult is the topic of internal communication. How do we ensure that every staff member (regardless of whether academic or administrative staff) gets to know what’s cooking at the faculty? In the TS management group, we have had several discussions about this over last year. I have also had such discussions with the communications department, as well as, with various staff members working in or for TS. I have gained a lot of insights, but still; I have a difficult time finding a crisp general strategy.

At the same time, I am of the opinion that both decisions, as well as, communication should be handled at the closest level as to where the staff is. This also corresponds to my more general aim to further empower the departments. TS has a long tradition of being managed as one big department instead of two autonomous departments like in the case of, for instance, our sister faculty (KS), where the department level is really strong. One could of course debate wether this is a good role model for TS or not, but a conclusion that I have drawn so far is that internal communication should be taken care of at the level where it makes the most use for the people that need it, and to me; this is clearly the departments. Thus, TS departments should be generally more empowered, and specifically when it comes to internal communication. This, we already see several good examples of. We have the weekly newsletters by the section heads at DVMT and we have the Yammer group for all staff at MTM.

To complete this picture, it is also fair to say that we have a number of live meetings that could also be mentioned on this topic. There are, for instance, the APTs, all the (formal) board meetings, and we also have the TS administrative meetings, where all the persons occupying managerial positions at TS meet with all the key persons in the administrative departments working for TS to update each other with all the hot issues that we find in our daily work. At these meetings, I also try to convey an outlook from the Dean’s point of view. Much like I will henceforth do in this blog.

Speaking of which, I will at least every week try to update this blog with some personal and rather informal reflections from my point of view. My ambition is to share information and to share my interpretation of the direction in which things are moving – both at the TS level, the university level and in the world around us. I will of course do my best to do this in English, and in the future, I will also try to explore different approaches. For instance, right now, I discuss with our TS communications officer (Daniel Harju) how posts in text (such as this one) can be completed with short updates in a film-based manner. More info on this latter thought to come…

Finally, when speaking of internal communication, I would like to share one last thought. Every Monday at 10 AM, we have the TS decision meetings. On these occasions, all documents that require a signature by the Dean are handled. Typically, such documents can be employment contracts, admittance to PhD studies, research applications, distribution of funds, etc. On this URL, all the agendas and decisions can be tracked. In other words, that particular web page is a useful way to keep oneself updated about initiatives that are taken and stuff that’s going on. (N.B., we are working on a translation, but this is a typical case of the exercise of public authority and thus at least needs to be in Swedish.)

Anyways: that’s all for now. Thanks for a really good week. Have a good weekend!

The Faculty’s annual holiday party will be on December 17. Formal invitations with information about when and where will soon be sent out by email. Also note that the Faculty’s end of spring semester celebration will be held on May 28 from 17.00-21.00 in Orkanen.

On November 14, guest professor Jay David Bolter will hold a talk at the University’s after work lecture series I huvudet på en professor. His talk Augmented and Virtual Reality-enhancing our understanding of cultural heritage will be held in English.

Jay David Bolter is the Wesley Chair of New Media at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is currently a guest professor at the Department of Computer Science and Media Technology.

When and where:
Wednesday, November 14, from 5-6 pm
(doors open at 4:30pm)
The Niagara 2nd floor café, Nordenskiöldsgatan 1, Malmö University

I huvudet på en professor is a series of after work-lectures held in Swedish. Jay’s talk will be about 30 minutes, followed by a panel discussion with a PhD-student and ending with an opportunity for audience members to ask questions.

Beer, wine, alcohol-free drinks, coffee, tea and snacks can be purchased at the event.

One of our main missions is to build a full research university (ett universitet). To TS, this means that we must strive to become a university faculty. Building a university faculty in Malmö means a number of things, but a concise interpretation might be borrowed from Malmö University’s strategy, and is that follows:

Long-term, nationally and internationally outstanding research which, together with doctoral education, constitutes one third of the university’s activities.
Education grounded in research, in terms of teaching methods as well as subject matter, which provides the conditions for inclusive and student-active life-long learning.
Strong, coherent and boundary-crossing international academic environments in which education, research and collaboration are integrated.

In this post, I would like to say some things about the third goal. Strong academic environments are typically characterised by education in all cycles, i.e., from BSc through MSc to PhD, and a mutually beneficial relationship between strong teaching and strong research. In many cases, especially those that concern technology and natural sciences, these environments are also marked by collaboration with actors in the society (e.g., companies) and international engagement (e.g., cooperation with researchers at unis across the world). Moreover, it is not unusual that these sorts of environments also include some kind of preparatory course (e.g., a “basår”) in order to increase the possibilities for strong student recruitment to bachelor level programs.

At TS, we are dedicated to build strong academic environments, in fact; this could just as well be said to be the overarching goal of everything that we do. To some extent, we have already come a long way in building strong academic environments. Take, for instance, DVMT, where we have educational programmes in all three cycles. In the other main academic environment at TS (MTM), we are on the move. As of the fall of 2019, we are launching a new MSc educational programme in Computational Materials Science, and the Faculty Board of TS has given us the assignment to investigate the preconditions for submitting an application for a PhD programme in an area relevant for that environment (MTM) to the Vice Chancellor. This very morning, we initiated this process.

In spite of this positive development at TS, one significant problem remains. And that is to gain a better balance between students enrolled in first cycle education and students enrolled in second cycle education. From around 4% in MSc courses as is the case today to at least 10% over the next couple of years (but in the long run, not even 10% is of course enough). To enable this transformation, we of course need more MSc programs, and as of October 15 this year, TS handed over three applications to the Vice Chancellor. Thus, the main authors of these applications deserve our heartfelt appreciation. So, while I am grateful to all the people that were involved in this work (and to all the people that will be involved in the work that comes), in this post;I would especially like to say thank you to the following three main authors:

Sara Leckner for the work on “Media Technology: Strategic Media Development”

Radu Mihailescu for the work on “Computer Science: Master in Data Science and Scientific Computing”

Let’s hope that the Programme Committee (who reviews these kinds of applications) likes the suggestions and that we can look forward to the launch of these programs in the coming years. And let’s also hope that we will hand in more applications about other types of degree programs in years to come. Building a university faculty not only requires education in all cycles, but also sensible balance between the students and the levels that they studying, as well as, an array of relevant, attractive and strategically sound educational programmes. So there are more movements that need to be done in order become a university faculty at a full research university. But for now, let’s all be very happy about the three MSc program applications. I know I am!

On Ada Lovelace Day, October 9, a group of girls from Lorensborgsskolan and Gullviksskolan in Malmö visited Storm for a Micro:Bit coding workshop. The event was organized at the initiative of Anders Fyhn at Arm and in collaboration with Marie Gustafsson Friberger from the organization Geek Girl Mini Malmö.

On October 25, Malmö University Vice-Chancellor Kerstin Tham and the University Library will organize an afternoon conversation, held in Swedish, about how the University can facilitate the transition to open access publishing.

When and where:
Thursday October 25 at 13:00-16:00 in Niagara lecture hall B1

The program includes:

a presentation by Mikael Laakso from Hanken School of Economics in Finland, who is a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on the Future of Scholarly Publishing and Scholarly Communication. He will talk about the economics of open access publishing, options for researchers and possible strategies for Malmö University;

a presentation by Beate Eellend, who is Open Access Coordinator at the Swedish Royal Library and who will describe the national strategy for open access to research publications;

a panel discussion with Rebecka Lettevall, Dean of the Faculty of Culture and Society, Per Jönsson, Professor at the Department of Materials Science and Applied Mathematics, Beate Eellend, Mikael Laakso and Sara Kjellberg, Malmö University Library Director. The panel will discuss current issues around open access publishing with a focus on the situation for Malmö University researchers today and going forward;

In connection with his October 18 doctoral thesis defense, David Cuartielles, IOTAP researcher and co-founder of the open-source electronics platform Arduino, hosts an exhibition at Storm. The exhibition is open on Thursday October 18 from 9:00-16:30 and on Friday October 19 from 9:00-16:00.

The Platform-things Exhibition outlines the Arduino platform‘s history and gives many examples of how it has been transformed into interactive technology all around the world.

This year’s two honorary doctors at the Faculty are tech-investor and entrepreneur Hampus Jakobsson and Professor Michel Godefroid from Universite Libre de Bruxelles. Both will hold their honorary doctorate lectures during the week of the Conferment and Inauguration Ceremony. More information below.

On October 4, Helena Holmström Olsson will take the stage at the University’s after work lecture series I huvudet på en professor. Helena’s talk, which will be held in Swedish, is titled Mjukvara – tjänsteinnovation för en bättre värld? (Software – service innovation for a better world?)

When and where:
Thursday, October 4, from 5-6 pm
(doors open at 4:30pm)
The Niagara 2nd floor café, Nordenskiöldsgatan 1, Malmö University

I huvudet på en professor is a series of after work-lectures held in Swedish. Helena’s talk will be about 30 minutes, followed by a panel discussion with a PhD-student Lars Holmberg, and ending with an opportunity for audience members to ask questions.

Beer, wine, alcohol-free drinks, coffee, tea and snacks can be purchased at the event.

On October 17 and 18, Swedsoft organizes the Software Technology Exchange Workshop (STEW) at Malmö University. Helena Holmström Olsson at the Department of Computer Science and Media Technology is one of the keynote speakers. Her talk is titled Delivering Value: Using the Right Technique for the Right Purpose.

The themes for the 2018 STEW conference are Open source and Artificial intelligence/Machine learning in software development. Other keynote speakers include Charlotta Falvin, Nithya A. Ruff and Staffan Truvé.

On Wednesday October 3 at 12.30, Claudio Nigro, PhD-student at the Department of Materials Science and Applied Mathematics, will talk at the Malmö City Library as part of the University’s Akademisk kvart series.

The title of Claudio’s talk, which will be held in English, is Hydrogen versus metals in aerospace and nuclear power plants.

Synopsis:
Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, is a major concern for nuclear and space industries. Although it was significantly used in the past, e.g. in airships, and is still seen as an environment-friendly energy source, it has been shown to be responsible not only for numerous dramatic explosions but also the degradation of the mechanical properties of metals leading to drastic failures in hydrogen-rich environment. Hydrogen embrittlement is a hydrogen-related damage potentially occurring in metals in different forms.

Where:
Malmö City Library (from the entrance go left and to the 2nd floor), Kung Oscars väg 11

Artificiell Intelligens – Den sista uppfinningen? (the last invention) is the title of the upcoming event at Bildningsbaren, Malmö University’s after work lecture series at Grand. On September 26, Faculty Dean Andreas Jacobsson will be one three guests invited to share their thoughts and insights on the hot topic of AI. The discussion will be held in Swedish.

When and where:
Wednesday September 26 at 17.15 at Grand Mat & Öl, Monbijougatan 17, Malmö. (Doors open at 16.30)

What is AI and how does it work? What will the consequences be when we share our intellectual abilities with machines? Who controls AI-development? What are the opportunities and the challenges with AI? Could AI lead to the end of humankind? These are some of the questions to be discussed.

Martin Fisk, senior lecturer at the Department of Materials Science and Applied Mathematics, will hold his docent lecture in Swedish this Friday. The lecture title is The effects of heat treatments on microstructures and mechanical properties in metallic materials.

All are welcome to attend an open lecture with Pierre Gullander from Symetri. The lecture (in Swedish) titled Effektiv datahantering i BIM-processdrivna byggprojekt is part of the recently launched CAD verification course at the Department ofMaterials Science and Applied Mathematics.

Offered to a group of recently arrived architects, building engineers and civil engineers, the 8-week course offering is a collaboration between the Department, Ingenjörer utan gränser and Symetri, and is financed by Region Skåne.

When and where:

Wednesday, September 26 at 15.15-17:00
Room OR:D222, Orkanen

For more information about the lecture and the CAD verification course, please contact Rafid Khazal.

On Wednesday September 19 at 12.30, Kristian Stålne, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Computer Science and Media Technology, will lecture at the Malmö City Library as part of the University’s Akademisk kvart series.

On September 26, it’s time again for the annual Faculty mingle TS-fika.

The purpose of TS-fika, which is organized every September, is to welcome new students and staff to the Faculty. We also want to create a meeting place for conversations, inspiration and collaborations between students, staff and invited companies.

TS-fika will be on Wednesday September 26 at 13.00-15.00 on the 5th floor of Niagara.

As usual, the Faculty provides coffee/tea and cookies. About 40 student ambassadors will work during the event to represent the Faculty’s programs with displays and demos.

Representatives from a number of local employers have been invited to mingle and meet future employees. We will post a list of the participating companies on the TS blog.

Lounge music will be provided by student DJ Viktor Ohlson. There will also be a contest organised in collaboration with Drivhuset.

On Friday, the group of incoming building engineering students at the faculty participated in a traditional cardboard boat building contest. In addition to a daring headwind race, the teams also competed in the categories best design and lightest boat weight.

Swedish public radio SR’s science show Vetenskapsradion is arranging a national political debate about research politics. It will be broadcasted live tomorrow Friday (August 31) at 14.03 from Kulturhuset in Stockholm. The debate editors have invited you as researchers pose questions for the panel participants. You can either ask your question by sitting in the audience or by emailing in advance to publik.vet@sverigesradio.se.

The debate will be in Swedish. You can of course pose any questions, but here are some basic question areas that the editors have in mind: